Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Autumn Vegetables or a Vegan Thanksgiving

( Just thinking:  If you're interested in the huge South Dakota snowstorm, please read my friend Margaret Watson's post on her blog Leave it Where Jesus Flang It.  We had just passed by there in gorgeous weather on our trip to Colorado.)

While a towering stack of boxes looms, I can't find the stereo or my knife block, I still want to eat something delectable AND I want those around me to have a decent healthy meal as well.  For the next little bit, we've got our oldest son and grandson living with us while their house is being renovated.  Daughter-in-law arrives on weekends, traveling down from her job in Boulder.



 We now have four dogs in the house for a Four-Dog Kitchen:  photo coming!

Butternut Squash-Zucchini Curry with Couscous or What is Home??

Last summer, when I began to make the first vegetable curries of the season, I was right here in our Colorado house up on the mesa.  I needed a quick dinner and had a bunch of vegetables lying around the counter--including lots of tomatoes.  A pot of rice was put to boil and I threw a bunch of vegetables and a little curry powder into a big skillet.  We ate quite happily very soon thereafter.

DISCLAIMER:  I'll freely admit I'm no authenic Indian cook; check out Just a Girl from Mumbai or The Lady 8 Home (two of my Ina Friday friends' blogs) for authentic recipes.  Or, for a general set of instructions, check out this post. 

Colorado kitchen

Last week, we moved permanently from Saint Paul back to Colorado into the house we've owned there for eight years by now.  To say it was or is a wrench is an understatement, because we love Saint Paul and I so loved my choir job at Prospect Park United Methodist in Minneapolis.  Finances dictated a change to owning one house only and here we are.  I'm still in the midst of figuring it all out and can't believe what an emotional upheaval it's been.  After all, it's just a house--right????

St. Paul backyard

Creamy Zucchini Soup with Parmesan and Cherry Tomatoes or Back Porch Gifts are Best

Fresh sliced cherry tomatoes are hidden at the bottom of the bowl for a surprise.

There may be more recipes for zucchini than anything else at this time of the year.  Long gone are the tiny, tender and sweet pencil-slim squashes of early summer.  Here now are baseball-bat sized --could I say clubs?--appearing on back porches, in countless loaves of bread, stuffed and broiled, or any of the above.

My basil died while I was gone.  Market had plants 3 for $10 this week. I'm starting over.

Since zucchini is my favorite vegetable, perhaps after asparagus... or maybe green beans...I just don't care.  I'll buy or take all I can get and never be tired of it.  Shredded, mixed with egg, onion, and a bit of flour, it's a supper pancake served with grated cheese.  Slit open, scooped out -- the moist innards sauteed with onions, garlic, and pepper--and refilled, I'm thrilled to stick it under the broiler under nearly burned and definitely crispy.  But what I really love to do is make soup.  Any kind. Especially with lots of fresh herbs  Which you knew.   (And the new soup book, Soups & Sides for Every Season truly is about done! Coming up in hard copy on amazon.com)

38 Power Foods, Week 31 -- Walnuts -- Leek-Fennel Soup with Walnut Pesto

Hot!

I didn't mean to do it, but you can see the steam billowing away from this hot Fennel-Leek Soup with Walnut Pesto.  Hearty without being heavy, this is a lovely light lunch with toasted baguette and cheese..

Left:  Roquefort                     Right:  Aged Provolone

or a lemony start to a special dinner.  Simple pictures are often best and this is no exception.  The soup pot ingredients are mostly fresh fennel, sliced leeks, chicken stock, and lemon juice--cooked up in about twenty minutes until the vegetables are just barely tender.   The only complexity involved, and it isn't much, is a gremolata-like pesto made in the food processor using today's power food, walnuts, along with lemon and parsley.  Traditional gremolata contains garlic, but I tossed that in the soup pot intead, so have named the topping a pesto.  You can call it what you like; I also call it good.

As walnuts are the nut grown where I live in Minnesota (there's a black walnut tree right down the street),  I was happy to blog about them today!  Not only are they locally sourced and extra-heart-healthy goodies, they also improve brain function and are full of anti-oxidants. A good source of easy-to-carry protein, walnuts weigh in at about 185 calories per ounce (about 14 walnut halves.) While we think of walnut oil as special salad oil, in France, at least,  it was in years past used in lamps for light along with candles.  I happen to be reading a book just this week  From Here, You Can't See Paris: Seasons of a French Village and its Restaurant, by Michael S. Sanders.  Just at the point were I stopped, a local duck farmer was explaining about walnut oil to the author, as many local gardens featured walnut trees and some farms still had walnut groves:

(100 years ago)...  And of course they force-fed geese, mostly for the fat, rather than for the meat.  FOR THE FAT!  Not for using in preservation, because pork fat is better than goose for that, but for cooking!  And the walnut oil, they burned in little lamps, a shallow dish with a wick suspended above -- you see them in all the antique shops now -- les calèmes.  They had walnut oil, back then, for lights.   Oh, people make such a big cheese of the walnut oil now, eh?  But it's not that good, it goes rancid fast, and back then it was used almost entirely for lighting.  They had no petroleum yet, that was the next thing to come.  So they burned walnut oil or candles. 

Three things: walnut oil was and is probably used for a lot of things,  but it isn't terribly useful for cooking per se as it's heat-sensitive and burns easily.  Also, it does become rancid easily, so buy small quantities and store the oil in the refrigerator.  I have always stored walnuts in the freezer (up to a year); they keep only about a month on the pantry shelf.  Let them come to room temperature before using for baking.

Learn more about walnut here, but first make the soup!

   leek-fennel soup with walnut pesto  

The pesto ready to be made in the food processor.

                    
4 generous main-course servings 
6 small first course servings

      Cook's Note:  While the soup cooks, make the pesto, and have it ready at the table. This soup is easily vegan if vegetable broth is used instead of chicken stock.  Without the toasted cheese accompaniment, it's also gluten-free.

                                                                                                           
 for the soup:

• 1 tablespoon each olive oil and butter
• Pinch aleppo pepper (can substitute crushed red pepper), optional 
• 2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored, and sliced thinly
• 6 leeks, white and light green parts only, well cleaned, and sliced thinly
• 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 quart chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1-2 drops hot sauce, optional
• Juice of 1/2 lemon--or to taste (you need to grate the peel for the pesto-do that first!)

 for the walnut pesto:

• 1/4 cup each fresh parsley and walnut pieces-whole or in pieces
• grated peel from 1/2 lemon  

1.  In a 6 quart soup pot, heat the oil and butter with the pepper over medium heat.  Add the fennel, the leeks, carrot, celery, parsley, herbs, salt, and pepper.  Stir, cover and cook about ten minutes, stirring once or twice; turn heat down if browning too quickly.
2. Add the garlic, stir, and cook two minutes. Pour in the stock and the white wine.  Season with hot sauce, if desired.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and let cook another ten minutes or so until all vegetables are tender.
3. Meanwhile, make the pesto by placing all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or hand chopper and pulsing until finely ground like fresh breadcrumbs.  Place in a small serving bowl with a tiny spoon at the table.
4.  When vegetables are tender, purée soup using an immersion blender or in batches in the food processor or blender.  Squeeze in about half of the lemon juice.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary, adding the rest of the lemon juice if you like it.  I liked just a little more salt--this will depend on how salty your stock was. Serve hot with a small spoonful or two of the walnut pesto.

Disclaimer:  For vegan and gluten-free options, please check all ingredients in your own kitchen as some ingredients are available with different options from different manufacturers.  As always, check with your dietician with questions.  
 ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

38 Power Foods is a group effort!   Stop by these other blogs and see what they're cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available.

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  

Chaya – SweetSav.blogspot.com

Jeanette – JeanettesHealthyLiving.com 

Martha – Simple-Nourished-Living.com

Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Mireya – MyHealthyEatingHabits.com 

Sarah - Everything in the Kitchen Sink


All sites may not blog power foods every week.
 
    Are you a food blogger?  Join us!

• We'd like to have you as part of the group.  Get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

 Sing a new song,
Alyce  

Meatless Mondays--Green Chile-Vegetable Crock Pot Soup

Vegan and Gluten-Free

On Monday mornings, I read the Sunday New York Times. (Read Mark Bittman's article on bread in yesterday's NYT magazine--beautiful.)  I'm totally perverse.  Occasionally I snuggle up on the couch for a Sunday afternoon with it, but I work Sundays...

Slow Oven BBQ Ribs with Spicy Broccoli-Potato Salad

Barbeque ribs made in my kitchen oven on a cold, cold day made it seem like...well, somewhat nearer to summer, let's say!

 In the middle of of the winter, I become entranced with the idea of summer food.  I crave hamburgers on the grill eaten outside at the picnic table.  I adore the idea of Sangria and a big crab salad.  (I have the opposite reaction when in mid-July I crave beef stew. Every year.)

38 Power Foods, Week 29 -- Pecans -- Light Winter Vegetable Gratin with Savory Granola

Each Friday, a wonderful group of women reaches across cyberspace and joins culinary hands to salute one very healthy food, one single beautiful ingredient from Power Foods : 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients.  (Scroll down for the list of blogs.)
 

I won't say it's not a challenge to come up to that gorgeous plate each week.  If I'm busy learning music for church or have my daughter home, or am busy with the soup book, I sometimes can't give the opportunity the intelligent focus and attention it deserves.  I used one great recipe for more than one blog recently....life can get ahead of me sometimes.  Hopefully I'm forgiven!

30-Minute Vegetable Soup a la Provence (Vegan and Gluten-Free) or What I'm Eating for Lunch

If you've been reading along on the blog, you'll know I've made a commitment to lose 10 pounds by Saint Patrick's Day when I always make a vat of potato soup and  loaves of Irish soda bread:

I've got a routine of exercise and cutting back on food so that I subtract 35,000 calories in 8 weeks.  (For instance, no meat 2 nights a week.)  No fancy-schmancy (as Sandy would say) diet; no gimmicks; no cash or meetings.  Just me.  My bean-counter head and my family room and the city of Saint Paul as gym. 

One of the things I've changed is that I can  have only fruit or vegetables 4 lunches per week.  No meat, no bread, no rice, etc.  I am fine with a piece of fruit each day so far and if I'm starving, I cheat a bit to add some Greek yogurt and a little of my homemade, low-fat granola. 

Pear-Grilled Fig Salad with Goat Cheese

 There are moments when I'm aware enough of the blessed goodness in my life.  Maybe.  I know not everyone has a counter full of butternut squash, apples, onions, shallots, garlic, hundreds (literally) of tiny green and red tomatoes, and Bosc pears.  I know not everyone has a warm snug lying next to them come the cold, dark morning.  Or a reason to get up and do something with the bounty in the kitchen downstairs.  I probably don't truly understand it, but I get it.  My life hasn't been all rose teacups and long walks along the river with the dogs.

This morning I read a post on a blog I follow (there's a link in my blogroll at right, too).

leave it where jesus flang it

Margaret writes daily there.   It's a prayer journal of sorts.  She's an Episcopal priest on an Indian reservation in South Dakota and life's hard there.  The loss and the poorness and the hurt are hardscabble painful and it's her job to keep showing up for the difficult moments and beyond.  Today she writes about people nearby whose babies have just died...  And (having had babies who died) I understand where this is and where it goes.  What I am drawn to these many years later is twofold:

1. why...if we need each other so very badly through the crazy, hilarious, dipping, winding, bottoming-out life trek, and if church is meant to provide that for us...why are so many of us no longer part of that community?   Or, if we are a part, are those communities truly sustaining us? and 2.  a bursting grateful noise for all I have and all those who have loved me through the nearly killing losses.   I come back to the idea that to begin with thanksgiving is a perfect way to pray/live and I have to learn it all over again, all over again, all over again.   Even if God isn't a welcomed presence in your life, I think the settling of near-constant thanksgiving in our bodies is a positive way to breathe on earth.

Gone Fishin' -- In the Meanwhile Enjoy my Favorite Peach Post:

Peaches, cream, and more 

If its August.  If it's Colorado.  I'm eating peaches.  Any day. Every day.  For at least two weeks.  By themselves.  On Greek Yogurt with Colorado honey and slivered toasted almonds.  Or granola.   On top of vanilla frozen yogurt.  In a salsa on pork chops.  Etcetera.

Here are a few of the yummy things I've done.  Of course the best?  Above.  Fuzzy naked.

38 Power Foods, Week 10 -- Mushrooms -- Mushroom Ragù on Gruyère Toast

Slip some baguette with Gruyère under a broiler.  Saute some mushrooms with garlic, shallots, herbs, broth and wine.  Spoon the mushrooms over the cheese toast.  Dinner is served.

I grew up in a house that revered mushrooms. In any form, but mostly on their own.  Just cooked up in a big cast-iron skillet with some garlic or onions.  Eating them on their own was his favorite, but my Dad also loved them with some rice, eggs, or chicken.  He'd have mushrooms any old way.  As a little kid, I wasn't buying.   It didn't take long, however, for me to jump on his bandwagon.

My first mushroom love was the famous mushroom stuffed with sausage.  That gave way to (Lord) the deep-fried variety with sauce.  All the while, regular old mushrooms slowly began to take part in my kitchen pageant.  One day I saw that I was buying mushrooms pretty much every time I went to the store.  Talking with my oldest son the other day, I woke up and realized he was talking about cooking up a big pot of mushrooms.  Never know what you'll pass on.

Alyce's Tortellini Salad Goes to Denver, but Misses Olivia's Birthday

Summer comes and this tortellini salad comes with it.  Just ask my family.
Full of tender cheese-filled tortellini and lots of chunky vegetables, it's held together with a brisk mustard vinaigrette and lots of thin slices of sopressata or hard salami.  If I'm going to a family event or a church picnic, I make a big bowl of this salad and bring it along.  In Minnesota, it goes in the cooler and makes its way up north to celebrate Joe's and Olivia's birthdays. 

38 Power Foods, Week 2 -- Asparagus -- Asparagus Soup

Alyce's Asparagus Soup a la Silver Palate

Every Friday for the foreseeable future, I'll be blogging one of the 38 healthiest ingredients from POWER FOODS : 150 DELICIOUS RECIPES WITH THE 38 HEALTHIEST INGREDIENTS by the editors of Whole Living Magazine. 

50 Women Game-Changers - # 45 - Diana Kennedy- Fresh Salsa Mexicana from Jerez

Wake up and smell the salsa.
This is not salsa made in New York City.
Nor in San Antonio.
This salsa is made in your house. On your cutting board. 
And not in your Cuisinart.

Plant your gardens and sharpen your knives.

This salsa is worth the time it takes to  grow the ingredients and make it by hand.  But you can make it in its glorious Mexican-flag colors this weekend in honor of Cinco de Mayo if you'd like!

Lemon Orzo with Asparagus, Peas, and Fennel

Next day:  add some feta, more vegetables, and some oregano for a great salad.

When it's spring, I'm all over asparagus.  You know that if you read my stuff.    But, it's fennel, too.  Ramps (a bit like scallions) are also a treat if I can find them.  I like to bring all these April goodies together...and here's one favorite I pair with a grilled or poached salmon.   Later on, come summer (or for next-day leftovers), I make a great salad by using this basic recipe with a few additions.  Try this:

.

lemon orzo with asparagus, peas, and fennel
    serves 4-6

• 1/2# orzo, cooked al dente according to dirrections and drained
• 1T each olive oil and butter (use all olive oil for vegan option)
• 1# trimmed asparagus cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, and sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh/frozen peas
• 1/4 cup sliced red onion or ramps
• Juice of a lemon
• 1T grated lemon rind
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper

While the orzo cooks, saute the asparagus, fennel, peas and onion in the olive and butter for 3-4 minutes until softened.  In a large bowl, mix together the drained orzo with the cooked vegetables.  Add the lemon juice, lemon rind, and season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  Add a bit of crushed red pepper  (or aleppo pepper if you want the taste, but not all the heat) and taste.  Adjust seasonings.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

For the next-day or summer cold salad, you can add to the leftovers chopped feta, dried oregano, fresh basil, any other on-hand chopped vegetables, a splash of red wine vinegar and a little more olive oil.  Taste and adjust seasonings again.

50 Women Game-Changers in Food - #41 - Elizabeth Andoh - Udon Soup with Vegetables and Tofu

I'm always on the lookout for beautiful, delicious food that is also healthy.  To say nothing of the delight in making a meal that didn't empty the wallet at the check-out.  Enter this sweet and toothsome goodie, "Udon Soup with Vegetables and Tofu," that's just as far away from your capital T-typical noodle soup as it can get without falling off the edge of the comparison.   Add vegetables, lovingly cut PREE-cisely teensy of course,  a nice slew of tofu, and you're eating a recipe from Elizabeth Andoh, who is number forty-one on Gourmet Live's list of 50 Women Game-Changers.

Living in Japan for for decades,  Elizabeth Andoh attended Yanagihara Kinsaryu School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine (Tokyo), wrote several Japanese cookbooks (scroll down for list), and for years served as Gourmet magazine's Japanese food writer.  She also teaches cooking classes in Tokyo if you're ever out that way.   Most recently, Andoh published Kibo: ("Brimming with Hope)  Recipes and Stories
from Japan's Tohoku...

 

Curried Cauliflower Soup or The Rite of Spring on Bach's Birthday

Hot lunch on a cold spring day

 Outside the window in the new/old (1915) St. Paul house, it's fairly gray.  Everything's gray, in fact.  Melting snow, sky, sun, trees...even the birds appear kind of gray.  But spring it is!

Jack Sparrow and Friend

When you've moved, the chores are myriad.  It seems you're always running to the hardware store for a light switch cover or to Target for garbage bags and peanut butter.  If you're not running, you're on the phone with the phone company or recycling folks.  If you're not on the phone, you're looking at paint samples or asking where the post office is.  (What happened to phone books?)

Sooner or later, plates seem to be on shelves and towels are clean and folded in the bathroom.  You know where to turn the light on for the basement and have figured out what that horrible sound is between the floors or in the walls. (Hot water pipes.)  You have the turn to your house memorized and don't have to count houses from the corner anymore.  And one day, you start making meals again--hardly noticing the skipped nights or that you're in a different kitchen.  Well, I wouldn't go that far.  I am definitely in a different kitchen, though I'm feeling the similarities as I get things squared away.

I had things to do this morning like

• clean the back porch
• scrub the basement stairs (honest-to-God linoleum)
• wash rugs and bathmats
• bleach down the bathrooms, one of which has an old-fashioned claw-foot tub

 Cool thing was, these are typical house chores--not moving chores.  We've been here long enough for the bathrooms to need a scrub.

So when I got done with the morning work-out, I wanted real food for lunch.  I was sure my hard-working husband wanted some, too.  Scouting out the frig and pantry (still not full, of course), a big cauliflower reared up its head called me by name.  A quick look around the counter and I located onions, shallots, garlic, apples and one lone pretty ripe pear.  I thought I'd throw most of it in the oven to roast while I did one last chore and then puree it all with some chicken stock and curry powder.  Here it is just for you.

As Dave and I sat down to eat, Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (1913) came on the local NPR and the day just came together.  A spring-like light, but warming soup with a kick.  I just couldn't figure out how Bach's birthday figured in, but it's today, too.  Happy Birthday, Johann.  And thanks for Bach, God.

Curried Roasted-Cauliflower Soup
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 apple, peeled and cut up into eighths
1 large onion, same drill
4t olive oil, divided
Sprinkle of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 shallot, cut in large pieces
1 garlic clove, same drill
1 small carrot, minced
1 stalk of celery, minced
1 ripe pear, peeled and cut up
1 t curry powder, divided
Pinch each cinnamon and crushed red pepper

1 qt chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 c each white wine and water (or 1 c water)
1/3 c parsley, chopped
1/8 t cinnamon
1/4 t kosher salt
1/8 t white pepper, ground


  Preheat oven to 350 F. On a large baking sheet, place cauliflower, onion and apple.  Drizzle with  2t oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place sheet in oven and roast for about 30 minutes.

 Meantime, in a small soup kettle (4qt),  saute shallot, garlic, carrot and celery in the other 2t olive oil about 5 minutes over low heat, taking care to not burn the shallot and garlic.  Add pear,  1/2 t of the curry powder, parsley, cinnamon and crushed red pepper.  Stir and saute another minute or so.  Add stock, wine and/or water, cinnamon, salt and pepper and stir.  Bring to a boil and lower heat to a bare simmer.

When cauliflower, apple and onion are roasted, add them to the stockpot and stir.  Bring soup up to a boil and lower heat to a slow boil.  Add rest of curry powder.   Let cook 5-10 minutes.  Puree with immersion blender or in batches in the food processor (carefully).  Taste, adjust seasonings and serve hot with a piece of buttered whole wheat toast.

 Easier yet:  Roast everything, add to stock and puree.  Leaving out fruit, celery, carrot, etc. will produce a more pronounced cauliflower-tasting soup, but also makes things simpler.

Now I'm off to Ace to buy a mesh strainer for the end of the washing machine hose.  Oh well.

Sing a new song or warm up your fingers and give Bach a whirl,
Alyce

Pico de Gallo Halibut on Warm Rice Salad with Bacon Pintos



Pico de Gallo Halibut on Warm Rice Salad with Bacon Pintos



   Yes, my jeans are tight.  I'm sure they shrank.   Didn't yours last month?

Whatever--I'm working on lighter meals, like this halibut, to make up for things like whole baked potatoes with butter and sour cream (Did I do that???  I did.) at MacKenzie's Chop House.

  I'm also working on a series of meals that will use each of a dozen great foods (a la Dana Jabobi's 12 BEST FOODS COOKBOOK) and do double duty--decrease my waistline and make me tres healthy.  How about you?  You could get in on it, too.

The list of the twelve best foods reads like this:

1. Broccoli
2. Black beans
3. Tomatoes
4. Salmon
5. Soy
6. Sweet potatoes
7. Oats
8. Onions
9. Blueberries
10. Walnuts
11. Spinach
12. Chocolate

We used sweet potatoes in the Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust (last post).  One down.  

Next is tomatoes and tomatoes we have here in abundance with our halibut.  Onions is another and we've got onions in two places here.  3 down, folks.  Ok.  Let's talk fish for the halibut.  Bad joke from the Three Stooges. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Halibut, well, it's just an incredible fish.  Meaty, bright, filling, flexible, dependable.   Currently not cheap.   Good with nearly anything.  I had (bad me) frozen two pieces that just weren't going to get cooked last week.  I also had a quart of pico de gallo (the first I've ever bought instead of made) that said, "Use within 14 days of opening."  (The 14th day was fast approaching.)  It seemed the pico and the fish were meant for one another.  Add to that I had some rice from an old favorite dish (rice with creamed pork tenderloin and mushrooms) that also needed a home and this easy, fresh  mid-week meal was born.





Warm Rice Salad in process.

If you never cooked beans, you don't know how non-descript they can look in the pot while all the while tasting scrumptious.  Definitely not my photographic skills, right?  And, yes, they take a while at altitude.   They're good in the microwave, though.  I cooked these earlier in the afternoon so they were very tender by dinner time.  You could choose canned beans, unsalted or drained and rinsed very well indeed.

The beginning of cooking the halibut--salted and peppered, it just goes into a very hot skillet with some olive oil.  Cook it for 4 minutes, turn and throw it into the oven (400 F) for about 6 minutes and it's done.

Cilantro, tomatoes and avocado for the rice salad.

When the halibut is cooked, pull it out and top with pico de gallo, thus warming the salsa.

Add the rice "salad" to warmed bowls or plates, top with fresh tomatoes, cilantro and avocado and lay the fish w/ salsa on top.  Spoon some beans along side and squeeze fresh lime over all.  Maybe a quick dust of black pepper?  Eat while it's hot.

Pico de Gallo Halibut with Warm Rice Salad and Bacon Pintos    serves 2

Beans:   (Follow directions below or use canned, drained and heated beans.)

1/2 # pinto beans (you'll have  alot left over for huevos or chili)

2 onions, chopped (divided--1 for the pintos and 1 for the rice)

3 cloves garlic, minced (divided--2 for the beans and 1 for the rice)

4 thick-cut pieces of bacon, diced

Fresh ground pepper

Tabasco

Kosher salt 

Warm Rice Salad:

1 T olive oil

(onion and garlic from above)

1 Medium zucchini, diced

1 Yellow squash, diced

2-3 c cooked rice

1/2 c fresh cilantro, divided

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 Avocado, ripe, diced

1 Lime, divided

Halibut:

2 T olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 pieces (4-6 oz) fresh or unthawed and patted dry halibut filets

1/2 c pico de gallo, home-made or store-bought 

Directions: 

1.   BEANS   --  In a 6 qt. kettle, place picked over and cleaned pinto beans and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for two minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for an hour.  Drain and replace beans in pot; pour in about 4 qts of water.  Add 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves of garlic minced, all of the bacon, the pepper and several drops of Tabasco (or a whole, fresh jalapeno).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours until beans are tender.   While beans cook, check pot regularly and add water if needed.     When done, cover and keep warm  or cool and reheat when needed.  Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
2. WARM RICE SALAD --  In a large saute pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions and squashes.  Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes or so until nearly tender. Stir in garlic and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender.   Add rice, stir, and season well with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with most of the cilantro, saving a little bit for garnish at the end.  Squeeze the juice from half of the lime over the rice and stir.   Turn off heat and cover to keep warm while you cook the fish.   Add the fresh tomato, cilantro and avocado right at serving time.
3.   HALIBUT  --   Preheat oven to 400 F.  Heat a medium skillet over medium- high heat with 2 T olive oil.  Season fish well with salt and pepper and place skin side up in hot pan.  Do not disturb for 3-4 minutes until well-browned.  Turn fish over and place  skillet in oven for about 6 minutes until fish is firm and flaking.  Remove from oven and spoon salsa on top of each piece.  Let fish sit a minute or so.
4. TO SERVE:  Spoon rice onto warmed plates or large shallow bowls (pasta bowls are nice) and top with halibut and salsa.   Add the tomato, the avocado and cilantro to the top of the rice.  Spoon some beans to the other side of the rice and fish.  Squeeze the other half of the lime over all of the food in each bowl or plate.  Dust with pepper if you'd like.
5. Serve immediately while hot.   

What I'm Reading, Listening to, Working at or Doing around the 'Hood:

Had neighbors for dinner Sunday night at the spur of the  moment.

Enjoyed my husband at home...no travel this week.

Wondered about a job for me..did some work on that.

I'm reading DEVIL'S TRILL by Gerald Elias (I told you that.) and ordered DANSE MACABRE,  too.   Ah, violin mysteries.

 I also picked up, and started, THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE.  (I know--you read this in '03)

I'm still reading Barbara Brown Taylor's AN ALTAR IN THE WORLD.  Superb.
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THE ART OF CURATING WORSHIP by Mark Pierson arrived, but I haven't started it yet.

The book club book is Isabel Allende's DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE.  Not yet, either.  Nope, I haven't begun it.

I taught piano lessons and learned alot.  I let a student choose a piece to work on and it was Bach. 

I did my best to listen to myself playing and singing old standards.  Piano bar retirement plan.  You know those jars that say, "Piano Player's 401K?"  They're real.  Put something in them, please.
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As I write, I'm listening to Patti Digh's 37 DAYS, which you can listen to, too, right on her blog of the same name. (Link on my blog)  What would you do if you had 37 days?  Patti travels and speaks...if you can get her.

We watched "Did You Hear What Happened to the Morgans?"  Glad it happened to them, though the bears are here, too-so that wasn't so funny to me.
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I played through/listened to the new Lenten cantata from Pepper Choplin/Lorenz.  Hm.  Jury is out there.

I think I finished washing all of the linens from Christmas.

I'm looking at local hunger issues for examiner.com and figuring out a series of articles on same. 

There's a second article about where to drink just a glass of wine in Co. Springs in the works as well.

I played with the dogs every chance I had.

Today--reupping my "Y" membership.

Talked to my daughter on the phone twice and texted back and forth to Jeanne...several times.

Spent a long time on the phone with Sue..,..such a treat.  A treat to have the time and a treat to have Sue.  Prayers here and now for Sue's father-in-law, in the last stages of cancer in Virginia.   Also praying for friend, C, recovering from surgery.

Kept up with my family via fb.  My nephew is deer hunting and I wish I could get some sausage.  One of my nieces  is on the way to new health after a long New Year's hospital stay.

Went out for supper at old-time family Italian Luigi's  to share a pizza and salad with Dave in front of their fireplace.  Listened to his work stuff and was grateful my jobs don't involve that kind of stuff.  The tough ones for me are getting mah, may, me, moh, mooo right.  Or answering questions like, "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't sing that hymn this Sunday.  You tell me why?"  I get to help make people happy, healthy and wise as they sing their hearts out or cook yum food for loved ones. 

Nice work if you can get it.

Healthy... yes. 

Thanks, God.
   
Two-Dog Kitchen

 

Be well in 2001 as you sing a new song,
Alyce





What's in a name? Welcome to the world Aaron Noah Wilkerson and Pinto Rice Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

You'll have to bear with me and read a while to get the recipe for this salad.  Yum.  It needs a better name.  Be thinking as you scroll down.

What IS in a name?  I'm pretty good with words--usually.  But once in a while I'm just stuck for a name for a recipe I've developed.  Once it was, "What do you call a Fish Taco Salad?"  I had some great answers, but just thought "Fish Taco Salad" really told the tale.  Same thing with the pinto bean rice tunzveg salad I made for tailgating last week. 

Or, just for kicks, I threw in this photo (above) of the kid and the pumpkins.  It's October.  I don't know this kid's name.  I don't remember where I got this picture.  I've looked and looked.  Who is this kid?  What's her/his? name?  It matters; it really does.  But I dunno.  If you know, tell me.

Recipe names are important, too.  They should say what the recipe is, but they should draw you in, too.  Make you want to cook, as it were.

How about here?  This is my Mom and my nephew Michael in the above pic.  Many years ago.  Mom's been gone since 1985 and Michael's in his 30's, married with children.  Mom; she was my mom.  But she had a name.  Even to my kids, she was our "Mom's mom" or "grandma."  But she definitely was Faiery Elizabeth Denny McClendon.  Born today in 1917.  Happy Birthday, Fay.  You're my screensaver, Mom. 

Here's Michael today.  With daughter Allison.  Hmm.  I wish they were here!

But then there's this little punkin.
Aaron Noah Wilkerson. 
Named for himself.
And his big brother, who's no longer here, but is among the names God calls daily in heaven.
Nearly 9 pounds and 20 inches long.  A solid chunk of humanity.  So loved. So awaited.  So beautiful.
They knew just what to call YOU!

Welcome to our world, Aaron.  We'll love having you here.  When you're bigger, you can eat some of this salad.  That I'm unsure what to call.  Maybe your Mom can help; she's good with words, too.  Good with making beautiful babies, too.  Well, Dad helped.  And everyone prayed.  And prayed.  I cannot wait to see you baptized!!

Still.  This IS a food blog.  Most of the time.  So here's my tailgating salad.  Try it.  Put different vegetables in it.  Play with the seasonings.  I found it needed citrus--acid and then a little sweetness--the butternut squash and the honey.  This makes a LOT.  And, maybe you can come up with a name.  See this little bowl I used for photography?  You'll need a bigger bowl than that, I'd guess.  We adored this.

Pinto Rice Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing  or  Here it is, Loren--you asked for it!!
12-14 servings

This was great with chicken enchiladas and sour cream.  It'd be lovely with tacos--fish  or meat.  It is also an awesome vegetarian meal...leave out the cheese for vegans.  Pretty nice for gluten-free folks, too.  WhooHoo.

3 cups cooked pinto beans (do it yourself or use rinsed canned ones)
3 cups cooked white rice
1/2 c cabbage, finely sliced
1 c cubed (small) white cheddar cheese
2 small zucchini, diced **
1 small yellow squash, diced **
3 stalks celery, diced
1 c butternut squash, cooked, peeled and diced*  (or use acorn squash)
1 avocado, barely ripe, diced
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off*  (or 1 c frozen, defrosted corn)
1 bunch green onions, chopped (white and green)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped roughly

Dressing:  Juice of 3 limes and 1/2 c olive oil, 2 cloves finely minced garlic, 1/2 t kosher salt, 1/2 t freshly ground pepper, 1/4 t ground cayenne pepper or to taste

Juices of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lime, 1 orange; 2T honey

1 c cherry tomatoes, cut in half

In a very large bowl or 10 qt stockpot, mix the beans through cilantro gently.  Pour 1/2 the dressing over all and mix again easily.  Taste and adjust for seasonings.  Squeeze over all the lemon, lime and orange juice.  Drizzle honey over all.  Mix again and taste for and adjust  seasonings.  Garnish with cherry tomatoes.  (Don't mix them in; they'll mush up by the next day if you keep any of this that long.)  Have the courage of your convictions and make this salad your own, changing up any of it.  I really just made it up as I went along, after beginning with the idea of a bean-rice salad that felt and tasted very fresh.

Eat now or chill and serve within 1-2 days.  Use remaining dressing at table or to moisten salad next day.

*Cook the corn and the squash in the microwave: 

 For the corn-- Place whole ears of corn with husks and silks on dampened paper towel.  Cook two ears about 4-5 minutes total.  Remove ears from microwave and wrap in foil.  Let steam for 5 minutes in foil and take off husks/silk.  Cut kernels from corn by holding cob perpendicular to (and resting against)  the cutting board.  Slice downward, cutting between the kernels and the cob itself, moving around and turning the cob as each section falls to the board.

 For the squash--Cut squash in half.  Cook one half at a time.  Place the squash in a 8" square microwave-safe glass container and pour about 1/2" water in the bottom.  Cover and cook on high 5 minutes or so.  Let sit another 5 minutes and remove squash from skin to dice on cutting board.  Make your winter squash like this often and save lots of time.

**I sauteed the zucchini and the yellow squash for just a couple of minutes before adding it to the salad; you can leave it raw or cook it, even in the microwave, too--just as you like.  Another option:  throw in for the last couple of minutes with rice or beans.

Above:  Winter Squash Fast, left, and my drained beans, right.  Try cooking the beans in the microwave, too.  They get done without getting mushy.  I like them cooked up with lots of whole onions (peels, too) and a couple of cloves of garlic..as well as a whole jalapeno and lots of salt and whole peppercorns.  You get a little heat without overwhelming the beans or the salad.  Don't forget to remove the peppercorns before eating!

Happy Fall, dear ones.  Cook a pot of beans.  Make some winter squash.  Feel autumn come. 
Sing a new song,
Alyce